It is known to create a casing for a sausage making machine (e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,255) by extending a thin strip of casing material in a helical configuration around an elongated stuffing tube or horn. The side edges of the strip overlap as the helix or spiral configuration is formed. The overlapping edges are thereupon secured together by various means, such as adhesive, or the application of heat, to form a hollow cylindrical casing into which meat emulsion is extruded as the completed casing slides over the discharge end of the stuffing horn as meat emulsion passes therefrom.
However, adhesives are hard to apply, expensive, and some have negative edible characteristics. Also, the application of heat to the overlapped edges is also difficult and has not proven successful either with adhesives or with thermoplastic casing strips.
Therefore, a principal object of this invention is to provide a method and means for creating a casing on a sausage making machine which can effectively heat and fuse overlapping edges of a helix-type casing by applying a concentrated amount of heat along a short helical segment of the casing.
These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.
A method and means for creating a casing on a sausage making machine involves the method steps and apparatus wherein a strip of thermoplastic casing material is wound on a rotating hollow sausage stuffing horn. The casing material has side edges forming a series of contiguous helixes of casing material with the side edges of one helix overlapping the side edges of an adjacent helix. A source of heat is applied on at least a helical portion of the adjacent overlapping edges of adjacent helixes to cause the overlapping side edges adjacent the source of heat to fuse together to create a hollow casing. The source of heat is applied to only a short helical path superimposed only over a corresponding helical segment of the overlapping side edges of adjacent helixes.